'85 Ranger Restomod

[85_Ranger4x4]

Two years ago today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Ne7joNd-s&t=31s

One year ago today:

 

[Twister]

Saw that on a Facebook. Congrats on your one year anniversary!!

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[bobbywalter]

dude...that is a story for ford.



use your wizardry with pics and graphics and send it up the chain.


i forgot about that...

your wife actually getting in there in a wedding dress and that cake....you a friggen ranger hero!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

dude...that is a story for ford.



use your wizardry with pics and graphics and send it up the chain.


i forgot about that...

your wife actually getting in there in a wedding dress and that cake....you a friggen ranger hero!

I posted it in the Ranger story thread...

It was good I was still automatic then, I had to dig thru dress to find the floor shifter. We ALMOST needed a bigger cab, it was like door to door dress.

Minime truck was fun. My grandmother bought all three grandsons Nylint Rangers way back when for Christmas that came with gooseneck livestock trailers. I had seen the mudding grooms cakes on facebook... remember my old Ranger of yesteryear I bought a not quite mint one (out of box with a few dings) on ebay, took the stickers off and painted it like mine.

Started out like this:

I drew up the first gen Ranger "R" for a cake topper on Draftsight because our last name starts with an R and had it burned at a local fab shop on their laser table. My brother in law borrowed one of my JY badges and made the stained glass unity candle thing freehand with help of a woodworker friend.

 

[bobbywalter]

thats one hell of a good woman.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

thats one hell of a good woman.

She wanted it car themed and I was like “I can do that”

She puts up with a lot too.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Cleaned up the floor support and cut out a couple weird edges around the gaping hole in my floor.



I pulled the windshield trim to treat some rust forming on the weatherstripping lip and found this:



I guess I have windshield trim for a diesel? Why in the heck would it be different?

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Probably Ford getting rid of excess diesel parts after stopping production. No way to tell really.


GB

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Probably Ford getting rid of excess diesel parts after stopping production. No way to tell really.


GB

Yeah, my truck is a mixed bag of parts so how it ended up on my truck who knows.

But why make different interior trim in the first place?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Threw some paint on everything the floor pan will cover up.

now it looks like a proper piece of farm equipment, just like god intended.

Ended up making my own floor hardware. Measured the distance on the OEM stuff, sized some washers to fit.



Cat is unimpressed by my lack of progress. I promised to redouble our efforts and it left me alone.



Traced out a patch for the torque box:





When people say aftermarket sheetmetal doesn't fit like OEM, I guess this is what they are talking about:



Started trimming out the floor patch.



I had to trim the fan shroud, not the greatest looking but the shroud will probably be going away when I add A/C anyway.





Picked up all of my stuff, with winter coming I am toying with the idea of hauling it to work to finish the floor. It is pretty much ready to go right now.



BUT I need to sort all the crap that has accumulated in the back.

 

[BlackBII]

Should have left the hole in the floor there. Woulda made it easy to bleed the clutch!

Looking good man!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Should have left the hole in the floor there. Woulda made it easy to bleed the clutch!

Looking good man!

The hole is still there, the patch is just sitting on the top yet.

I keep fighting the urge to hook up the clutch but I don't want the pedals in my way with the floor debacle.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Hit the JY yesterday and found some treasures:

Cool '85 Ranger literature.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/2cuUyK6]







Also managed to find really nice base model windshield side trim. The little points that wrap towards the door are cracked on mine.



This was laying under a later model truck, snagged it for a spare



Even found a 2.8 in the yard to snatch the snorkel off of. I still have mine, with the shorter snorkels my dual snorkel setup will fit a lot better.



Also grabbed the intake duct off of an '85 4cyl that goes under the battery tray... a coyote started doing coyote things behind the garage and distracted me during my post battle victory photo shoot and I forgot to get a pic of it.

And... I found a lid.



Needs stripped and re-polished but with a sticker kit (with the correct 5.0 designation) it should look really sharp.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I've found multiple sets of various years of those Ranger documents in the junkyard. I always just put them back in the glove box. I never considered them having any real value.




GB

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I've found multiple sets of various years of those Ranger documents in the junkyard. I always just put them back in the glove box. I never considered them having any real value.




GB

That is probably why they don't charge for them.

I think that kind of stuff is neat, I didn't have that one and my truck would have came with one originally. I just as soon have it in my glovebox than it getting burned when they melt the truck down.